Lift saddle for transmission jack

ABSTRACT

A saddle for jacks handling car transmissions in confined spaces beneath the vehicle. The saddle has a rectangular plate with four arms slidable transversely to its edges. Upstanding blades are provided on the arms for supporting the load, the arms being secured in their adjusted position by bolt-and-slot connections.

United States Patent [191 Arnes Nov. 20, 1973 LIFT SADDLE FOR TRANSMISSION JACK [75] Inventor: Lyle L. Arnes, Racine, Wis.

[73] Assignee: Tenneco 1nc., Racine, Wis.

[22] Filed: Feb. 16, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 226,732

US. Cl. r 254/134 1366f 3/00 [58] Field of Search 254/133, 134;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,628,772 12/1971 Gaarder 254/134 2,838,278 6/1958 Johnsen 254/134 Primary Examiner-Othell M. Simpson Assistant ExaminerRobert C. Watson Attorney-J. King Harness et a1.

[5 7 ABSTRACT A saddle for jacks handling car transmissions in confined spaces beneath the vehicle. The saddle has a rectangular plate with four arms slidable transversely to its edges. Upstanding blades are provided on the arms for supporting the load, the arms being secured in their adjusted position by bolt-and-slot connections.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures LIFT SADDLE FOR TRANSMISSION JACK BACKGROUND AND BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to jacks for handling irregularly-shaped workpieces such as the transmissions of passenger cars. The lift saddles for transmissions must have a considerable range of adjustment in order to accommodate various sizes and shapes of units. Moreover, a transmission is often located in a tightly confined space, adjacent the car frame, exhaust system or other components and to avoid contact with these components the lifting saddle must be practically as small as the transmission oil pan.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a lift saddle for transmissions or the like which is capable of handling a wide variety of shapes and sizes of transmissions but yet is sufficiently small to reach between adjacent parts to engage the transmission oil pan.

According to the invention, a lift saddle is provided comprising a rectangular base plate with four arms slidably mounted on the plate for independent movement transversely to its edges. Means are provided for independently fixing the position of each arm, and means are carried by the arms for engaging the object to be lifted.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the arms are at midportions of the plate edges and are secured in their adjusted position by boIt-and-slot connections. Outer portions of the arms carry upstanding blades preferably formed as transmission-engaging saddles. Two of these blades are secured to the ends of their arms and extend in both directions, so that these arms may be reversed-and used as guards when it is desired to support the transmission directly on the plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a portion of a lifting jack showing the transmission saddle of this invention mounted-thereon;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front elevational view of the lift saddle taken in the direction of the arrow 2 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the lift saddle taken along the line 33 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The lift saddle is generally indicated at 11 and is mounted on a conventional lifting jack such as that shown in U. S. Pat. No. 3,062,500, having a pair of lift members 12 and 13 and a tilt pad 14 mounted thereon. Saddle 11 comprises a base plate 15 of rectangular shape, in this case square, having a pair of front and rear edges 16 and 17 and side edges 18 and 19. Base plate 15 is secured to pad 14 by four bolts 21 passing through asymmetrically spaced holes in pad 14 and tubular spacers 22 welded to the bottom of plate 15, the bolts being threaded into holes 23 in plate 15. The asymmetrical pattern of the bolts will insure that the lift saddle is not mounted incorrectly with respect to pad 14.

A pair of front and rear arms 24 and 25 are mounted beneath plate 15 midway along edges 16 and 17 respec tively. These arms are of flat shape, having oppositely inclined inner edges 26 and 27 and right-angled outer edges 28 and 29. The arms are provided with elongated slots 31 and 32 through which extend bolts 33 and 34 threaded into holes in plate 15. The bolts have washers 35 and 36 respectively which will clamp the arms in their adjusted positions against the underside of plate 15 when the bolts are tightened. A pair of saddleshaped blades 37 and 38 are secured to the outer edges 28 and 29 of these arms. The shape of these blades is best seen in FIG. 2, the upper ends of the blades being wider than the lower ends and having recesses 39 for engagement of the transmission. About three-fourths of the height of these blades projects above their respective arms and the remainder extends below for reasons described later.

A pair of side arms 41 and 42 are located slightly forwardly of the midpoints of plate edges 18 and 19. These arms are also of elongated shape, having inclined inner edges 43 and 44 respectively and right-angled outer edges 45 and 46. The arms are positioned beneath path 15 but are spaced therefrom by approximately the thickness of arms 24 and 25. The spacing means comprises a pair of U-shaped rods 47 secured to the plate underside. A pair of transmission-engaging saddleshaped blades 48 and 49 are secured near the outer ends of arms 41 and 42 and extend upwardly therefrom, these blades having recessed portions 51. Arms 41 and 42 are provided with elongated slots 52 and 53, and bolts 54 with washers 55 extend through the slots and are threaded into plate 15 to secure the arms in their adjusted positions. Bolts 54 are located within the confines of U-shaped spacers 47 so that arms 41 and 42 will be secured firmly against the spacers.

The lengths of the slots in the four arms are such that in their innermost positions the two pairs of arms will overlap, as seen in FIG. 3. However, the arms are capable of a wide variety of adjustments to accommodate different sizes and shapes of transmissions.

A pair of holes 56 and 57 are provided in arms 41 and 42 respectively outwardly blades 48 and 49. A two-part safety chain 58, 59 is attached to these holes for holding a transmission or other part (not shown) carried by the saddle.

In operation, the arms of saddle 11 will ordinarily be mounted so that the recesses of all four blades are open upwardly to engage a transmission or similar workpiece. The front and rear arms 24 and 25 may contact the transmission at its oil pan flange. However, these arms can be inverted by removing and replacing bolts 33 and 34 so that the short portions of blades 37 and 38 extend upwardly. This would be done for example if it is desired to support a transmission directly on plate 15 rather than on the saddle-shaped blades. Side arms 41 and 42 in this case would be used solely as anchors for safety chain 58, 59. None of the blades would then be supporting the transmission but merely acting as guards to prevent it from sliding off plate 15.

It will be observed that tubular spacers 22 are located so as to allow free adjusting movement of the arms before being clamped by their bolts and washers. Except for the portions of arms 41 and 42 occupied by the safety chain holes, the outer dimensions of the entire unit 11 will be controlled by the positions of its transmission engaging blades, so that interference with surrounding components of the vehicle will be avoided.

I claim:

1. In a lift saddle for holding irregularly-shaped workpieces such as transmissions, a rectangular base plate having front and rear edges and two side edges, front and rear arms mounted beneath said plate and having saddle-shaped workpiece-engaging blades secured to their outer ends and extending upwardly therefrom, slotted portions in said arms, bolts extending upwardly through said slotted portions and threaded to said plate, said bolts having washers for clamping the arms in adjusted position with respect to the plate, a pair of side arms having slotted portions, bolts and washers for clamping purposes, spacers between said side arms and said plate whereby the side arms are spaced from the plate approximately the thickness of the front and rear arms, and a pair of saddle-shaped blades secured to and extending upwardly from the outer portions of said side arms.

2. A lift saddle for holding irregularly-shaped workpieces such as vehicle transmissions, comprising a base plate having substantially parallel front and rear edges and a pair of substantially parallel side edges extending substantially at right angles to said front and rear edges, a front arm and a rear arm forming a first pair of arms and a second pair of side arms slidably mounted on said plate for independent movement transversely respectively to said edges, means fixing the adjusted position of each of said four arms with respect to said plate, and upwardly extending means fixed to each arm for engaging a workpiece to be lifed, the inner ends of one pair of arms overlapping those of the other pair when all arms are in their inner positions.

3. A lift saddle for holding irregularly-shaped workpieces such as vehicle transmissions, comprising a base plate having substantially parallel front and rear edges and a pair of substantially parallel side edges extending substantially at right angles to said front and rear edges, a front arm and a rear arm forming a first pair of arms and a second pair of side arms slidably mounted on said plate for independent movement transversely respectively to said edges, means fixing the adjusted position of each of said four arms with respect to said plate, and upwardly extending means fixed to each arm for engaging a workpiece to be lifted, and tubular spacers carried by the underside of said plate and engageable with the pad of a lifting jack, said spacers being in nonobstructing relationwith said arms.

4. A lift saddle for holding irregularly-shaped workpieces such as vehicle transmissions, comprising a base plate having substantially parallel front and rear edges and a pair of substantially parallel side edges extending substantially at right angles to said front and rear edges, a front arm and a rear arm forming a first pair of arms and a second pair of side arms slidably mounted on said plate for independent movement transversely respectively to said edges, means fixing the adjusted position of each of said four arms with respect to said plate, and upwardly extending means fixed to each arm for engaging a workpiece to be lifted, one pair of arms being engageable directly with said plate, the other pair being spaced from the plate by approximately the thickness of the first pair and having inner ends which overlap the inner ends of the first pair when all the arms are in their inner positions.

5. The combination according to claim 4, further provided with spacer means for said last pair of arms comprising a pair of U-shaped members secured to the underside of said plate.

6. A lift saddle for holding irregularlyshaped workpieces such as vehicle transmissions, comprising a base plate having substantially parallel front and rear edges and a pair of substantially parallel side edges extending substantially at right angles to said front and rear edges, a front arm and a rear arm and a pair of side arms slidably mounted on said plate for independent movement transversely respectively to said edges, means fixing the adjusted position of each of said four arms with respect to said plate, and upwardly extending blades fixed to each arm for engaging a workpiece to be lifted, two of said blades being secured to the outer ends of said arms, major portions of said last-mentioned blades extending above their arms with other portions extending below the arms, the other two blades being secured slightly inwardly from the ends of thier arms and extending upwardly, and a safety chain extending between the outer ends of said two last-mentioned arms. 

1. In a lift saddle for holding irregularly-shaped workpieces such as transmissions, a rectangular base plate having front and rear edges and two side edges, front and rear arms mounted beneath said plate and having saddle-shaped workpiece-engaging blades secured to their outer ends and extending upwardly therefrom, slotted portions in said arms, bolts extending upwardly through said slotted portions and threaded to said plate, said bolts having washers for clamping the arms in adjusted position with respect to the plate, a pair of side arms having slotted portions, bolts and washers for clamping purposes, spacers between said side arms and said plate whereby the side arms are spaced from the plate approximately the thickness of the front and rear arms, and a pair of saddle-shaped blades secured to and extending upwardly from the outer portions of said side arms.
 2. A lift saddle for holding irregularly-shaped workpieces such as vehicle transmissions, comprising a base plate having substantially parallel front and rear edges and a pair of substantially parallel side edges extending substantially at right angles to said front and rear edges, a front arm and a rear arm forming a first pair of arms and a second pair of side arms slidably mounted on said plate for independent movement transversely respectively to said edges, means fixing the adjusted position of each of said four arms with respect to said plate, and upwardly extending means fixed to each arm for engaging a workpiece to be lifed, the inner ends of one pair of arms overlapping those of the other pair when all arms are in their inner positions.
 3. A lift saddle for holding irregularly-shaped workpieces such as vehicle transmissions, comprising a base plate having substantially parallel front and rear edges and a pair of substantially parallel side edges extending substantially at right angles to said front and rear edges, a front arm and a rear arm forming a first pair of arms and a second pair of side arms slidably mounted on said plate for independent movement transversely respectively to said edges, means fixing the adjusted position of each of said four arms with respect to said plate, and upwardly extending means fixed to each arm for engaging a workpiece to be lifted, and tubular spacers carried by the underside of said plate and engageable with the pad of a lifting jack, said spacers being in non-obstructing relation with said arms.
 4. A lift saddle for holding irregularly-shaped workpieces such as vehicle transmissions, comprising a base plate having substantially parallel front and rear edges and a pair of substantially parallel side edges extending substantially at right angles to said front and rear edges, a front arm and a rear arm forming a first pair of arms and a second pair of side arms slidably mounted on said plate for independent movement transversely respectively to said edges, means fixing the adjusted position of each of said four arms with respect to said plate, and upwardly extending means fixed to each arm for engaging a workpiece to be lifted, one pair of arms being engageable directly with said plate, the other pair being spaced from the plate by approximately the thickness of the first pair and having inner ends which overlap the inner ends of the first pair when all the arms are in their inner positions.
 5. The combination according to claim 4, further provided with spacer means for said last pair of arms comprising a pair of U-shaped members secured to the underside of said plate.
 6. A lift saddle for holding irregularly-shaped workpieces such as vehicle transmissions, comprising a base plate having substantially parallel front and rear edges and a pair of substantially parallel side edges extending substantially at right angles to said front and rear edges, a front arm and a rear arm and a pair of side arms slidably mounted on said plate for independent movement transversely respectively to said edges, means fixing the adjusted position of each of said four arms with respect to said plate, and upwardly extending blades fixed to each arm for engaging a workpiece to be lifted, two of said blades being secured to the outer ends of said arms, major portions of said last-mentioned blades extending above their arms with other portions extending below the arms, the other two blades being secured slightly inwardly from the ends of thier arms and extending upwardly, and a safety chain extending between the outer ends of said two last-mentioned arms. 